CASTLE: A Solid Alibi
by Midnite Solistace
Summary: Inspired by the spoiler article released about 5x06 so minor spoilers ahead. - A woman from Castle's past shows up murdered, and all the evidence points towards one suspect. Castle. Our favourite writer has a perfectly solid alibi, but can't use it without blowing the lid off his budding new romance with a certain Detective.
1. Fingerprints & Pantyhose

Inspired by the spoiler article released about 5x06 so minor spoilers ahead. - A woman from Castle's past shows up murdered, and all the evidence points towards one suspect. Castle. Our favourite writer has a perfectly solid alibi, but can't use it without blowing the lid off his budding new romance with a certain Detective.

I am aware that the brilliant _Dmarx_ beat me to the punch with this idea, although their story is intended to be a light funny one, mine is going dark and angsty. I may even do the whole case if this is received well.

**Disclaimer:** All Castle characters belong to A Marlowe, if the wait for S5 wasn't killing me so badly I wouldn't have to take his characters out for a spin.

Enjoy :-D

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**Fingerprints & Pantyhose**

Kate stretched as the morning light filtered in through her bedroom window. She had that grin on her face that always came when she remembered that she wasn't sleeping alone. It was Sunday morning and Castle had stayed over last night. She rolled over and found him lying on his back, sound asleep. She draped her arm around his middle and snuggled her head into his chest. Their relationship was still new and exciting, and so far they had managed to keep it to themselves. They stayed at her place more often than his loft as there was less chance of Castle's mother or daughter stumbling upon their tryst accidentally. The newly loved-up couple had managed to keep their romance under wraps for the last month and a half and Beckett still wasn't quite ready to reveal it to anyone yet. She felt a hand sneak around to her hip and run lightly up her spine.

"Mmm…..good morning Castle." She shivered lightly against his touch.

"Morning Detective, sleep well?"

"As well as can be expected given I'm sharing with a man that hogs the sheets." She teased.

"There's a much larger bed at my place you know."

"There's also running the risk of your mother finding out about us, she's almost caught us once remember."

"Would it really be that bad?" Castle paused for a moment and then added, "Wait what am I saying?" quickly changing his mind.

Kate just grinned at him and leaned in for a kiss when her cell began to ring. She grimaced in frustration as she pulled away to retrieve it from her bedside table. Castle grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back into the middle of the bed. "Don't answer it, they'll call back." He latched onto the curve at the base of her neck and her shoulder blade, kissing gently.

Moaning Kate used all of her strength to pull away. "It's the precinct, what if it's a body?"

"Then they'll call back." He repeated. This time Castle pulled her and flipped her onto the mattress so that he was above her.

"Castle….." She protested weakly. He moved down between her legs using his mouth to change her mind. "Castle!" She gasped this time and for the next fifteen minutes her phone was forgotten.

Twenty minutes later Castle's phone began ringing and since Beckett had ignored hers he chose to answer it. Kate was spread out on the pillows recovering from Rick's distraction and he kept one eye on her as he answered it, amazed at the early morning glow she was giving off. She was gorgeous.

"Castle….Oh hello Ryan… A body? You can't get hold of Beckett? How strange, why don't you give me the address and I'll meet you there?" "Mhmm, mhmm," He murmured as he wrote down the address, "I'm sure she'll call you back, she's probably in the shower." Beckett threw a pillow at him.

"Ok Ryan, I'll see you there soon. Bye" Castle hung up his mobile.

"See, I told you it was a body." Kate scrambled out of bed and ran for the shower.

"Hey Kate," He called after her; she poked her head back around the door frame.

"Hadn't you better ring Ryan?" He grinned at her cheekily while holding up her phone.

Kate sauntered back over to him and snatched it back out of his hand. She glared at him as she hit the number into her phone. "Ryan? Hey sorry, I was in the shower….."

When she was off the phone with Ryan Kate hit the shower first, as it would take her longer to get ready. She was dressed and had her makeup on as Castle emerged from her bathroom in nothing but a towel. She kissed him hastily on the lips. "I'll see you at the crime scene."

"Still not driving in together huh?"

"Then who would get my coffee?" She teased.

"You know we're going to have to tell people eventually though?"

"Castle, can we not do this now?" Kate sighed. "Look I'll see you there." She turned, grabbed her bag and was out the door before Castle could protest. He shook his head and moved to the dresser to find some pants. He was amazed he had gotten as far as keeping a drawer at her place; at least that was something.

* * *

Kate had met Ryan and Esposito at the crime scene and had gone in to find Lanie overlooking the body. They were at an apartment block only twenty minutes' drive from Beckett's. The victim was in her early thirties, blonde, very attractive and had been found strangled in her bed. They wouldn't know anything else until forensics had gone through the apartment. The Vic had pantyhose tied around her neck, which would make it hard to pull prints. Lanie said that using pantyhose to strangle the Vic was almost as good as wearing gloves. The three detectives went back into the hallway so they could begin canvassing the neighbours. They found Castle walking up the hallway towards them holding his usual two cups of coffee. He was looking slightly uncomfortable and Beckett couldn't place why. Castle had pulled up outside and checked the address twice to make sure he was in the right place. He greeted the three of them nervously and handed Kate her coffee.

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "Rough night Castle?" Even though she knew exactly how his night had been she wanted to account for his odd behaviour now.

"Yeah, I didn't get a lot of sleep." The corner of his lips twisted up trying to hide a knowing smirk.

"Are we going to stand here all morning or do you want to come see the body?" She pushed him as Esposito and Ryan walked down to start canvassing at the other end of the hall.

"Yeah, who is it?"

"A female in her thirties, we haven't managed an ID yet, this isn't her apartment from what the uniforms can tell. All of the bills are addressed to a Mr L Pritchard. She was found by the maid." Beckett told him as they walked through to her bedroom.

When Castle saw the body he dropped his full coffee cup onto the carpet, it spilling everywhere.

"Castle!" Lanie scolded. "Watch what you're doing. If there was evidence in those carpet fibres there certainly won't be now."

"I'm sorry, look I need to step outside for a minute, get some fresh air." He turned briskly and walked back towards the hallway. Lanie looked up at Kate for an explanation and all she could do was shrug in confusion. She signalled with her hand that she was going to follow him.

When she got outside Kate found Castle leaning over the stairwell banister and taking deep breaths.

"Hey…Castle what's wrong?" She ran her hand over his back, trying to sooth him.

He stood back upright trying to act as normal as possible. "Nothing, just a headache, I'll be fine in a minute."

"If you're sure…" Kate wasn't buying it for a minute.

"Look Kate….there's something I need to tell you….." He had to come clean with her before it came out during the investigation, but was interrupted by Ryan and Esposito who had walked down to them.

"Neighbours didn't see or hear a thing." Ryan interrupted.

"We can't do much more without an ID. We should head back to the precinct and start working on a time frame. Lanie estimates time of death between two and four am." Esposito added.

"The woman's name is Kellie Donnelly." Castle told them.

Kate's head whipped back around to him suddenly. "You know the victim Castle?"

"Knew." He corrected. "She's dead."

Esposito's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, we got that part bro."

"She's a friend of a friend. We used to run in the same circles." He went on to explain.

"Were the two of you close?" Ryan asked.

"I haven't seen her in years."

"Ok well we need to get back to the precinct and see if we can track down this Mr Pritchard while Lanie looks over the body in the morgue." Beckett instructed. She began walking down the stairs ahead of everyone leaving the three boys to follow behind. As soon as Beckett was alone in the car with Castle she was on him within seconds.

"Alright Castle; spill; what aren't you telling me."

He rubbed his hands over his face in utter frustration. "I tried to tell you upstairs." He sighed and tried to steady his voice. Kate could see he was fighting some sort of inner struggle, was he trying to work out how much or little to tell her? She placed her hand on his leg to reassure him that whatever it was, it was going to be ok.

"The L in L Pritchard stands for Luke. Pritchard was the other man….Meredith was sleeping with when she was married to me. When I ended it with her she shacked up with him but it turns out when she was a free woman sleeping with her didn't have the same appeal and they broke up a few months after. He started seeing Kellie soon after."

"You kept tabs on who he was dating months after you split with Meredith?" Kate was confused by this odd behaviour.

"Kellie and I were friends from college. We lost touch when she started seeing Pritchard, even though I warned her what he was like."

"Castle I'm sorry. If you're too close to this case I understand if you want out."

"Not a chance, I want to catch this guy. I'd put my money on Pritchard, I say we start with him."

"Rick…." She warned, "You know personal vendettas can't come into this. We'll start with Pritchard because the Vic was found in his apartment. We need to establish if they were still seeing each other."

* * *

It was a gruelling first day on the case. Beckett decided to keep Castle's information private unless she decided that it became relevant. Pritchard arrived home after the detectives had left and was met with the uniforms that brought him in for questioning. He had been at the gym all morning. Beckett interviewed Pritchard with Ryan sitting in as opposed to Castle who waited with Esposito in the viewing room behind the glass. Pritchard was the same age as Castle, the same physical build. He wasn't exactly on the unattractive side either. She could see why Meredith might have been drawn to him. He was a lawyer, too which meant he could offer wealth and stability, much like Castle.

"Ms Donnelly was found in your apartment Mr Pritchard, were the two of you in a relationship?"

"She would sleep over, yes."

"But the two of you weren't exclusive?"

"We were together on and off for a few years. Our working life made it difficult to maintain a healthy relationship. She was interning at my firm. Then about five months back we bumped into each other at a local bar, hit it off, but we'd only meet up every few weeks or so."

"Was Ms Donnelly satisfied with your arrangement?"

"She wanted more, kept telling me that we should have tried harder when we were together."

"But you didn't?" Ryan interjected.

"Want more? Hell you've seen her, Kellie was gorgeous, but hey, I've been around the block a few times, I'm not ready to settle down yet."

Castle pounded his fist against the table in the viewing room angrily.

"You ok Bro?"

"This guys an ass." He replied. "He can't see what's right in front of him."

Esposito raised an eyebrow but before he could ask Castle to elaborate an Officer entered and handed Esposito a Manilla folder.

Back in the Interrogation room Beckett kept grilling. "So if Ms Donnelly was sleeping in your bed last night, where were you? Specifically between the hours of two and four am?"

"Kellie and I had been out drinking, this place called The Old Haunt."

Beckett blinked; they had been in Castle's bar.

"We had an argument early on, about six I think. I left her with some friends and me and the boys moved on to another bar. We stayed out partying till about five am and then I crashed at one of their apartments. They'll verify it for you, his name is Jake Fitzgerald. I borrowed his gym clothes this morning and went straight there. Came home and the cops told me Kellie was found in my bed. I don't know anyone that would want to hurt her; you've got to catch this guy." Pritchard was getting visibly upset by this stage. He might not have wanted to commit to the girl but it was evident he cared about her to some extent.

"We'll need you to wait here until Mr Fitzgerald can verify your story, but if it checks out, you're free to go. Oh, and we're sorry for your loss." Beckett added. Her and Ryan stood up and left the Interrogation room, moving into the viewing room just as Esposito was thumbing through the pages of his Manilla folder with a concerned look on his face.

"Is that lab work back?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah it is." Esposito handed the file to Beckett. "You may want to look at this."

Beckett read down the page thoroughly before looking up at Castle. Esposito was staring at him too. Ryan peered over Beckett's shoulder to find out what was so interesting and it wasn't long before his gaze was also focused on their friend.

Castle was puzzled by the way they were all staring at him. "What is it?"

Beckett swallowed before she could open her mouth; her throat had gone bone dry. She tried steadily to hold her composure. "Care to tell us why your fingerprints are all over the crime scene Castle?"


	2. An Incriminating Sketch

Hey guys, sorry this took so long, but thank you all so much for the positive response. Over 1000 views in the first 24hrs.

Keep the reviews coming but more importantly hope you enjoy it :-D

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**An Incriminating Sketch**

Beckett was struggling to stay focussed as she tried to read Castle's face. He was giving nothing away.

"My fingerprints? There must be some mistake." Was all he could manage.

"Not according to forensics. Your prints are all through Pritchard's apartment." Beckett repeated. What the hell was going on?

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this." Castle answered.

"Which is?" Esposito asked.

"I didn't do anything."

"I'm sure we can sort this out," Beckett began. She thrust the Manilla folder at Ryan. "Here, take these back to the lab for me, tell them they've made a mistake."

Ryan glanced over at Esposito for help.

"Beckett…." Javi warned.

"You heard him, Castle didn't do anything." She protested.

"Castle, where were you last night?" Ryan asked in the most non-accusive voice he could muster.

"Excuse me?" Castle was shocked.

Ryan pressed, "Between the hours of two and four am."

"Am I a suspect?" Castle refused to answer the question.

"Come on Castle; answer the question so we can start looking for the real murderer."

Castle glanced over at Beckett, who was pacing the length of the room. She wouldn't look at him. She didn't know what to think. Or what to do.

Castle took a deep breath. He had been asleep, arms wrapped around the most beautiful woman in the world all night, in her bed, at her apartment. But he couldn't admit to that. Keeping their relationship a secret had become less about their privacy and more about what Gates would do if she found out. Even though there was no rule against a NYPD Detective and a Civilian consultant conducting a relationship, there was a rule about romantic relationships within your unit. If Castle wanted to be treated as Kate's partner in every other way; they were certain Gates would enforce this rule as well. Sure, Gates could simply throw him our but there were serious repercussions for Kate.

"I was asleep. In my bed, at my apartment." He answered simply.

"Was anyone else home at the time?" Esposito pressed, "Your mother, your daughter?" They were trying to help him.

Castle exhaled. "No. Alexis is away at College, and Mother; no I didn't see her. She said something about visiting friends, so no. I was home alone. All night."

"And you don't know how your prints got into the apartment?" Ryan repeated the question.

"No! I have no idea."

The three Detectives all looked at one another. Beckett's face was crestfallen. For once she wished that she wasn't in charge of this investigation.

Castle broke the silence. "So what now? Do I need a lawyer?"

"Yes." Ryan and Esposito both answered at once as Kate simultaneously answered "No." All three of them looked at one another again.

"Excuse us for a moment." Kate told Castle before pulling the other two out of the room.

Esposito was the first to launch into what needed to be said. "Beckett, I don't like this either; but you know the deal. We have to treat him like any other murder suspect."

"I agree, but fingerprints aren't enough to hold him with." She argued.

"What about fingerprints and no alibi?" Ryan tried to defuse the situation.

"Look we can do this one of two ways." Kate wasn't about to lose control of this case now. "We can throw the book at him, get Gate's involved, and be thrown off of the case. But we all know he didn't do it right?" She looked sternly at the both of them. Ryan nodded but Esposito gave nothing away. "Or we can keep our mouths shut, carry on with the investigation, and find some evidence that points to someone else." She paused. "Espo?"

"I don't like this Beckett."

"I'm not asking you to like it, I'm asking you to do it."

"You're too close to this."

"Which is why I'm not going to let some second-rate Detective replace me and screw this up."

"If we find anything else that remotely points to Castle then we go to Gates." Esposito bargained.

"Thank you." Beckett and the boys walked back into the viewing room.

"Ok Castle, you're free to go." She told him.

"Just like that?"

"Yes, but until we clear you; you can't be a part of this case. You need to go home and wait to hear from us."

"I didn't do this." He lowered his voice to speak only to her.

"I know; I'm sorry." She wanted to embrace him, tell him everything would be ok; but truthfully; she had no idea what was ahead of them.

"You'll keep me informed?" He asked all three of them.

"You'll be the first to hear anything." She said, and lightly touched his arm. It was all she could do without the others noticing.

When the elevator doors closed on Castle; Beckett whipped around to the other two. "I want the friends Kellie was with last night at the bar. We need to find out where she went and with whom. I'm going to see what Lanie's found."

* * *

"Tell me you've got something." She asked Lanie when she got down to the morgue.

"Hey girl. You're missing your favourite accessory?"

"Castle wasn't feeling well, I sent him home."

"Oh that's interesting." She sassed.

"Excuse me? Why is that interesting?"

"No reason." Lanie had her suspicions about Castle and Beckett finally getting it on but she wasn't about to admit it. "You're Vic wasn't strangled. The pantyhose were almost an afterthought. "

"Then how was she killed?"

"Multiple blows to the head. Very heavy ones. She has bruising around the neck as well, but it wasn't what killed her. It seems that the killer wanted to make it look like a strangling, hence the hosiery."

"Do we know the physical build or the strength required to create this type of bruising?"

"I'd say, at least six foot, medium to large build."

_Hmmm_, Castle was six foot, two. "Anything else?"

"I _have_ managed to lift some fibers out from her hair. They're black nylon, possible from a shirt or a jacket."

"Ok thanks, you'll call me if you find anything else."'

"You know it."

* * *

Beckett got back to the Bullpen and asked the boys if they had anything.

"Just gotten off the phone with the bartender from The Haunt." Esposito told her. "He says he remembers the group of girls the Vic was with last night. He only knew one of them by name, a Suzie Wilson."

"She's a receptionist at the same law firm Pritchard works for. " Ryan added.

"Good work, we'll go interview her first thing in the morning. In the meantime I want everything you can find on Pritchard."

"Already done. The guy's squeaky clean, not even a parking ticket." Ryan handed her the papers he had printed.

"Damn. What about family?"

"A mother, and a sister. They live a couple of hours out of town. They're coming in tomorrow." Espo filled her in.

"Well I don't see what more we can do today. Feel free to call it a night, I'm going to hang here for a while and do some paperwork." Beckett threw herself into her office chair.

"Paperwork? We haven't found anything yet, what paperwork is there?" Ryan knew he had to tread carefully. Especially when Beckett glared at him. "Are you going to talk to Castle tonight? He's probably going out of his mind."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, do you?" She answered him.

Esposito grabbed Ryan on the arm and pulled him away from her desk. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Beckett put her head in her hands and sunk down onto her desk. They had no leads. Nothing but the fingerprints. Castle's prints. She pulled out her phone for the first time that afternoon and found a message from him. _"Anything? Xox" _She flicked through to the next message. _"R we going 2 tlk about this?"_ The next one simply read _"Call me" _Castle was being very restrained considering he would normally have sent thirty messages by now. But she couldn't talk to him, not without compromising an already shaky investigation. She managed to ignore her phone all the way home until she caved. He was her boyfriend after all.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Kate, I've been going out of my mind. Tell me you have a suspect."

"We have people to interview tomorrow, but you know I can't talk about this with you Castle; it's an ongoing investigation.

"You haven't found anything have you?"

"Just be patient. We'll find something Castle, you're innocent."

"Will I see you tonight?"

"Castle I…I have a lot of paperwork to do. I'll talk to you when I can." She hung up on him before he had a chance to respond.

* * *

The next morning Beckett met Esposito and Ryan at the law firm where Pritchard and Suzie Wilson work. They approached her desk at reception.

"Suzie Wilson?" Beckett asked holding up her badge.

"Can I help you?" She replied sweetly.

"My name is Detective Beckett; I'd like to ask you a few questions about Kellie Donnelly."

"Oh god, what's happened?"

"Mr Pritchard hasn't told you?"

"Luke hasn't been in this morning. What's happened to Kellie?"

"She was murdered; brutally on Saturday night. We understand you were with her." Beckett cut right to the chase; she was in no mood for time wasting.

"Oh my god…." Suzie chocked up immediately. There was no doubt about it, the tears were genuine. She had no idea. The detectives gave her a few moments to compose herself before they led her to an empty office so they could talk in private.

"There was a whole group of us girls. Kellie was upset because Luke had ditched her for his friends again. We kept telling her that Luke was only using her. He wouldn't settle down with her once and he wasn't ready now. She kept drinking, and getting more and more upset. It was still early, about eight o'clock. She went up to the bar for her last drink and bumped into this guy. We'd never seen him before but Kellie seemed to know who he was."

"She didn't introduce you?" Ryan asked.

"No, she knew the rest of us were ready to call it a night so she told me that her friend would help her get home. There's no arguing with Kellie when she puts her mind to something. We should have stayed with her."

Beckett tried not to show her relief at having a decent lead. "Ms Wilson do you think you could describe this man to a sketch artist?"

She nodded. The detectives thanked her for her time and excused themselves. They had the Donnelley's due into the precinct for their interview later that afternoon and Beckett wanted to make sure they were prepared.

She stared blankly at her computer screen for a while before typing up a report on this mystery man from the bar, and how he was most likely the last person to see the victim alive. She was hoping the sketch artist would be finished soon so that she could show it to the family and see if they recognised him. Ryan approached Beckett's desk timidly holding a folder closed.

"Beckett?"

She looked up at him exhaustedly. Ryan could see what the stress was doing to her. "Yup?"

"The artist's impression of our suspect has come back."

"Oh finally, let me see."

"Beckett…"

"What's wrong?"

He handed her the drawing. She opened it eagerly only to have her blood run cold. Rick's eyes stared back at her from the page, it was a perfect sketch. "Has anyone else seen this?" Her voice was calm and collected.

"Not yet."

"Javi?" She asked.

"No, I brought it straight to you. But you know what we need to do now." They couldn't protect him anymore.

"Yeah I know. But let me go to Gates?"

"Sure."

Esposito walked up to them. "Hey Beckett, the family's here."

"Thanks Espo. Ryan I'll just do this interview yeah?"

"But Beckett…." He protested, but she was already off into the sitting room with the victim's mother and sister and she was carrying the sketch.

Kate couldn't glean much out of the family. They were obviously distraught, Kellie had still been in regular contact with them up until her death, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. She showed them Castle's sketch and asked if it meant anything to him. The mother shook her head but the sister recognised him as Kellie's ex-boyfriend from college.

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked. The sister clarified it. She was certain. They had dated for at least three years. Beckett was furious when she left the room. Castle had arrived at her apartment late that night; she hadn't thought much of it at the time but it turns out he was at his bar canoodling with his ex-girlfriend. He had taken her home to Pritchard's apartment and done god knows what. At least it explained his fingerprints. Beckett wanted nothing more but to confront him but it was impossible. He was their lead suspect in a murder investigation. It was her job now to hand over to Gates.


	3. A Lipstick Stain

Who else is dying for the premiere? It's only like 24hrs to go. Anyway here we are.

A big thank you to the hundreds of followers and people who are reading, please take one more minute out of your day when you're done to review? I'm craving more feedback. Enjoy :-D

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**A Lipstick Stain**

Kate took a deep breath before she knocked on the door of Gate's office. When she heard the invitation to enter she had to stop her hands from shaking. She walked in and closed the door behind her.

Captain Gates removed her reading glasses and sat up at her desk inquisitively. "Detective Beckett. I was wondering when you were coming to see me. I understand you are working a troubling case."

"You've heard about my case sir?"

"Not much gets past me Detective."

"So you know who we are investigating then?"

Captain Gates nodded. "It certainly puts you in a difficult position."

"Castle is now the lead suspect. I no longer feel comfortable being in charge of this case and request that I be removed."

Gates thumbed through the pages of the report she was holding. "What's his motive?"

"Esposito thinks that Castle's past connections with both the victim and her boyfriend might have something to do with it."

"Past connections? There is nothing written in here." Gates flicked through the pages again.

"We have only just established the link after talking to the victim's family a few moments ago. Castle was in a relationship with the victim for a number of years when they were in college."

"And the boyfriend…" Gates scanned her eyes down the page. "….Luke Pritchard?"

Beckett sighed. "Castle's first marriage ended after his wife had an ongoing affair with Pritchard."

"A jury will have a field day with that. You believe that Mr Castle is capable of murder?"

"What I believe sir is irrelevant."

"On the contrary, it's quite the opposite. Humour me."

"I believe that the real murderer is still out there. But with little evidence to support it and my close working relationship with the suspect any decisions I make from here on out are compromised."

"I agree; Detective. But your request is denied."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I may not have a lot of time for Mr Castle but all the same I do not wish for an innocent man to go to jail. You're the best I have Beckett and I trust in your gut instinct."

"With all due respect Captain, I can't interrogate him the way I will be expected to."

"And you won't have to. I will be in charge of this investigation from now on. I will spare you the task of arresting him, and I personally will be conducting Mr Castle's interrogation. But make no mistake, I will go after him until I am satisfied we have the wrong man. I hope for his sake that your team uncovers some other evidence soon; otherwise I will be forced to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. Do I make myself clear?"

* * *

Beckett was unsure of how much more of this she could take. Gates assigned Esposito to do the arrest while Kate and Ryan sat in her patrol car. Espo would take Castle back to the precinct where Gates would begin her questioning. Ryan and Beckett would then carry out their newly obtained search warrant for Castle's apartment. She prayed that neither Martha or Alexis were home. Ryan tried making small talk in the car but she wasn't interested in chatting. She sunk lower into her seat as she watched Espo accompany a cuffed Castle into his patrol car and help him into the back seat. She could hear them arguing all the way to the car.

"I want to talk to Beckett, where is she?"

"I don't care who you talk to, as long as you start talking soon bro. You need to start telling us the truth, or else you're going away and they're throwing away the key. On the long ride to the 12th why don't you think about what that will do to Beckett huh?"

Kate flushed crimson when she heard that and it didn't go un-noticed by Ryan. But before he could ask she was out of the car and marching up the front steps to his building. She had to get this over and done with. She rapped on the door loudly only to have her prayers go unanswered. Martha was hysterical.

"Oh thank god. Beckett you'll sort this out won't you, why do they think Richard's murdered that poor girl, it's ridiculous. It's about as far-fetched as him laying a hand against you."

"Martha I'm sorry but I need to do my job. We have a search warrant to conduct on these premises we'll need you to stand in the kitchen please."

"Oh all right, all right." She threw her hands up in the air as she waltzed over to the kitchen. "I don't know what you're expecting to find."

They hunted for a while without turning up anything of interest. On the way out of his bedroom Ryan spotted the sleeve of a black jacket draping out from a washing hamper. He picked it up and a white dress shirt came with it. He gave it a quick once over but stopped when he found a lipstick stain on the collar. "Beckett what do you think?"

"That could be anyone's lipstick." She replied nonchalantly. She tried to keep her tone relaxed knowing that it wasn't hers.

"The Vic still had lipstick traces on her when we saw the body. I normally wouldn't have noticed but it's the same shade that Jenny wears."

"Nice work Ryan, we'll get the uniforms to bag it up, the jacket too, Lanie said to be on the lookout for a black one."

Ryan frowned. He knew how hard this was on her. "Kate I'm sorry. This can't be easy."

"Don't apologise, you're just doing your job. We all are."

* * *

Beckett walked into the viewing room and slumped down into one of the chairs with Ryan close behind. They both felt miserable. Esposito was already inside, watching the interrogation unfold; seated at the other end of the table. Gates was in there alone, and she wasn't going to stop until she had answers. Beckett analysed Castle's behaviour and posture as he sat at the desk. He was leaning back in the chair, still not taking this seriously. He appeared relaxed.

"I understand that you were in some form of romantic relationship with the victim some time ago."

"Kellie and I dated in our last years of college, yes that's correct."

"So what happened?"

"College ended. I was busy writing, and she was interning at different law firms. We couldn't invest in it properly. We had never been on bad terms with one another."

"I also understand you have connections with the victim's current boyfriend; Mr Pritchard?"

"I wouldn't call them connections."

"But you know him? Friendly terms are we?"

"I won't be sending him a Christmas card this year; no."

"Please explain your involvement with him Mr Castle."

"My first wife was having an affair with him for the duration of our marriage."

"So it's safe to say that you don't like him very much."

"What do you think?" Castle's arms were folded now.

"So when Ms Donnelly told you that she had moved on with the same man who had been sleeping with your wife, how did that make you feel? Bitter, resentful, annoyed perhaps?"

"I warned her she was taking on more than she could handle. That he would hurt her. But I didn't stand in the way of her decision. This was years ago, what does it have to do with Kellie's murder?"

"I am asking the questions here Mr Castle, if you don't mind."

"You're doing a brilliant job so far, do carry on." His sarcastic tone made it clear that Castle was unimpressed.

"The night Ms Donnelly was killed her friends saw her meet with you at your establishment; The Old Haunt. Tell me about this meeting."

"I had just finished a meeting with my publisher. Kellie was at the bar getting a drink. It was the first time I'd seen her in years so I went over and said Hi. We got talking; her friends left and we got a drink."

"What did the two of you talk about?"

"We reminisced about College; how life was so simple back then. Talked about work; family. Nothing out of the ordinary. She had already had a number of drinks so when she went to get another I insisted on taking her home. That's when she told me she was staying at Pritchard's apartment."

"You discussed her current relationship with him?"

"I asked her why she was still involved with the sleaze. She told me it was for work connections more than anything and she was trying to get up the nerve to leave him. I helped her home and that was the last I saw of her."

"Be honest Mr Castle, you just dropped her off?"

"I helped her inside. Put her on his bed." Castle was trying to give the shortest answers possible.

"And?" Gates prompted.

He sighed heavily; knowing full well that Kate was on the other side of the glass. "Kellie threw herself at me the moment we were inside the front door."

"She made sexual advances on you?" She clarified.

"Yes. But I stopped things before they started. I wouldn't take advantage of her in that state. I also told her that I'm uh…emotionally unavailable."

* * *

Kevin looked over at Javi. "Emotionally unavailable? Is that code for I'm sleeping with someone else?"

"More often than not." He confirmed. "He has had that look about him lately. But it's Castle, where his guys. He would tell us." Espo shrugged.

Beckett avoided eye contact with the both of them. Castle's had that look about him lately? People give off a look when they're having sex now?

"Do you know anything about this?" Ryan asked her.

"Me? Why would I know anything?" Her tone was far too defensive for her liking.

"Castle tells you everything."

"No he doesn't. Look whoever Castle is or isn't sleeping with is none of our business."

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other with a knowing look about them. Ryan scribbled something on his notepad and slid it across the desk to Javi. His lips formed into a smirk as he read Kevin's scrawled script.

_Put me down for $100 on Beckett. _Esposito had been running an illicit betting pool about Castle and Beckett ever since the two of them came back to the Precinct. He slipped the note into his pocket.

* * *

Back in the Interrogation room Gates was still going.

"What kind of sexual advances did Ms Donnelly make?"

"How is that even relevant?" Castle was getting angry now. He didn't want to have to spell this out, knowing that his girlfriend was on the other side of the glass.

"Answer the question." Gate's tone was firm.

"She….started kissing me but I pulled back. She tried again, she was kissing my neck. She grabbed my shirt and tried to unbutton it. Trying to restrain her was…difficult. For someone that intoxicated she was quite strong. I didn't want to hurt her but I took her wrists and held them together and moved her over to the bed."

"How did she react?"

"She was upset; she told me she wanted to make up for all the time we'd been apart and that we never should have broken up. I stayed with her until she calmed down, tucked her into bed and let myself out. I went home, had a shower and went to bed. Alone." His tone was firm.

"And what time did you arrive home?"

"Around 9.30."

Beckett was desperately trying to think back to that night. Castle had arrived at her apartment late; about ten. Said he had been held up with Gina. They fell straight into bed and didn't move until the next morning. What unsettled her was that he had been completely normal; like none of this had happened. He could cheat on someone without them ever suspecting it. Kellie Donnelly was gorgeous; it would have been hard for any man to pass up sleeping with her. Kate wanted to slap herself for being so insecure.

Gates decided to wrap things up. "Well I hope you have a good lawyer Mr Castle. Is there anything else you feel I should know before I send you to your cell?"

Castle leaned back in his chair and looked up at Gates with a challenging gleam in his eye. "No. But I am rather interested in my motive; have you come up with anything decent yet?"

Gates paced up and down the front of the room for just a moment before half sitting on the edge of the table. "Why don't you try this one on? Luke Pritchard was sleeping with your first wife. He took your marriage from you; the woman you loved. You saw an opportunity to return the favour. Permanently."

Castle scoffed. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Then it's on par with most of the theory's that come out of your mouth every day." She stood up. "This interview is over." Gates walked out and two uniforms walked in to escort Castle to his holding cell.

* * *

Beckett couldn't remember the last time she had felt this miserable. She left the viewing room without saying a word and found her way down to the morgue. Lanie was just pulling on her coat to go home for the night.

"Hey girl, what are you doing down here so late?"

"Did you find anything on his clothes?" Beckett's voice was quiet; like she didn't really want to know the answer.

"Honey, I already sent the report up to Gates."

"Please." She didn't have the energy to beg right now.

Lanie sighed. "The nylon fibres found in the Vic's hair matched Castle's coat and so did the lipstick." She saw Beckett's face fall. "It doesn't look good for him huh?"

"We're not looking for anybody else." Beckett's lip began to quiver and Lanie pulled her into a hug.

"Hey, hey, it's ok." She tried to comfort her friend the best she could and held her as Beckett's shoulders started shaking with tears. "Kate; if it helps….." She paused for a moment, considering whether to continue. "...there was no evidence to suggest the Vic had sex the night she was killed."

She let out a large sigh of relief and Beckett finally gave up her charade. "How did you know?"

"I'm not an idiot. It just took me a little longer to decide it was Castle you were on with. With the exception of the last couple of days I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."

"I don't know what to do." Kate admitted.

"You do what you do best, catch the killer." Lanie encouraged. "You need to get your man out of the slammer so the two of you can get back to making little Castle babies."

Kate cracked a laugh. "Thanks Lanie. I needed that. I'll walk you out." The two girls walked out of the morgue; Lanie with an arm still comfortingly around Kate's shoulder.

"When this is all over; I want every single detail; you hear me?"

* * *

Beckett had to wait until the rest of her team had gone home for the night before she made her next move. She walked down the block to a twenty-four hour coffee house and waited for Gates especially to leave the Precinct. When she was sure it was safe she went back in and proceeded to the holding cells. She knew she was breaking every rule by going to see him; but she had to. He was going to jail otherwise. The guard on the door owed her a favour so he let her in without asking any questions. She approached Castle's cell and all of this was almost worth it just to see the smile on his face.

"Are you here to break me out?" He wore a cheeky grin.

She reached through the bars of the cell and took his hand in hers. "How are you doing?"

"Oh you know, I'm being charged with murder, so overall not that bad."

She smiled for a moment but then her face turned serious as she asked what came next. "You are serious; about the last month; aren't you?"

"Kate; you know I want this. You know I want you."

"You didn't tell me about Kellie."

"And that was wrong. I was embarrassed. I let the situation get out of hand, I was only dropping her home and it escalated. Kate I swear I didn't sleep with her; I swear. All I could think about was getting home to you."

"I know you didn't sleep with her. The lack of your bodily fluids on the Vic seems to be the only piece of evidence working in your favour."

"I'm so sorry; I should of told you." He couldn't lose her trust; not now.

Beckett could see the sincerity in his eyes. He had a lot of grovelling to do; but there were more important things to deal with first. "I want to come clean about us. I want you to give your proper alibi."

Castle was a little taken aback. "I thought we agreed that there's too much at stake. There are rules we're breaking."

"I'll accept whatever punishment I'm given; I'll be lucky if I still have a job. But there's no point in keeping this secret if it means my boyfriend goes to jail."

"You're sure?" He checked.

"Yes. First thing in the morning, ask to change your statement. It's the only way out. There are no other suspects and all of the evidence supports you. Look I can't stay in here I'm already breaking a dozen rules; I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

Castle lifted her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Thank you for believing in me."

She smiled softly before standing up. Beckett wasn't quite ready to let him off of the hook, but now was not the time to give him a lecture.

Kate left the 12th Precinct that night feeling no better than when she entered it that morning. She drove over to Lanie's house for a much needed glass of wine to prepare herself for the next day. It was going to be one of the most challenging days of her professional career.


	4. A Threatening Message

My apologies. I've had half of this written since the S5 premiere and then the rest just wouldn't flow.

Please enjoy, please review; feedback makes me smile. :-D

* * *

**A Threatening Message**

Beckett arrived at work the next morning feeling less than optimistic. She approached her desk slowly and stowed her purse in her bottom drawer thinking how much she would kill for Castle to bring her a coffee. A night with Lanie had been just what she needed; although since she didn't drink much these days, a bottle between them was all it took to bring on a slight hangover. Ryan walked briskly over to her desk.

"Beckett you've got to get in here, Castle and Gates are going for round two."

"Oh boy." She muttered as Kate followed Ryan into the viewing room.

* * *

"I am a very busy woman Mr Castle. Tell me why I should be giving you the time of day?"

"Because I didn't do it."

"The evidence would disagree with you. Let's review shall we?" Gates paced back and forth across the room as she ran down her list. "You were identified with the victim on the night she was killed. Your fingerprints place you at the crime scene. The victim's physical injuries were inflicted by a person of your height and build. We searched your home and came across further damning evidence." Gate's placed the sealed evidence plastic containing Castle's black coat in front of him on the table. "Is this your coat Mr Castle?"

"Yes."

"We found the same fibers from your coat in the victim's hair."

"I put my coat around her until I got her inside; she was cold!"

"Or you pulled the coat around the victim; restraining her; while you dealt her a few blows to the head." Gates offered. She then placed another sealed plastic on the table. "Is this your shirt Mr Castle?"

"Yes." He said through gritted teeth.

"The lipstick stain on the collar matches the lipstick worn by the victim on the night of her murder."

"You know how it got there; you don't need me to spell it out again."

"My point is; the evidence is damning. Not to mention your lack of alibi."

"I lied about my alibi; I wasn't alone." Castle raised his voice in frustration.

Gates paused for a moment; digesting this new information. "Why on earth would you incriminate yourself with a false alibi?"

"To protect the woman I love; very much"

Beckett felt Ryan and Esposito's eyes latch onto her but she couldn't look at them; she just stared through the glass. It was like a train wreck; you can't look away no matter how bad it is.

"Go on." Gates prompted.

"I left my apartment at nine forty-five and went to my girlfriend's apartment. We were in bed together until about seven the next morning."

"Explain to me again why you have been wasting police resources?" Gate's had it all worked out by this point.

"There are rules against romantic relationships in her workplace and we figured since I didn't kill anyone the evidence would speak for itself. However it's done quite the opposite."

"I am going to need to verify your new alibi Mr Castle."

"You're a Police Detective Sir; I'm sure you've already worked it out." Castle tried not to grin but it was difficult.

"For the record; I need a name." Captain Gate's tone was slow and menacing. She was pissed off.

"Kate Beckett." Her name lifted a heavy weight off of his shoulders.

Gate's turned to the thick glass mirror on the wall. "Beckett; get in here; now."

* * *

Beckett tried to sink lower into her chair than was possible. Gates wasn't even pulling them into her office she was going to go for it in the Interrogation room. Her two co-workers just stared at her as she retreated through the door.

"Should we leave?" Ryan asked Esposito.

"I don't know about you bro; but you couldn't pay me to miss this."

"Speaking of which…" Kevin had just won the betting sweepstakes.

Esposito groaned; pulling a stack of bills out of his wallet. "Yeah; yeah; don't sound so smug about it."

* * *

Beckett entered the Interrogation room a moment later and tried to hold her posture high and confident; which lasted all of two seconds.

"Sir…."

"Don't "Sir" me Detective; sit down." Gate's stood firm on the other side of the table; arms crossed.

Kate sat.

"Let me be clear. Frankly I don't care what the two of you get up to in the bedroom. When your behaviour affects my Precinct; it becomes my problem. Not only does your behaviour directly affect the integrity of my House; you've been lying through your teeth about a murder investigation! I expect Castle to pull this crap but Beckett I expected much more from you."

"Sir…" Beckett tried to protest.

"I'm not finished." Gates cut her off. "You wanted off this case Beckett; congratulations; you're off. I'm sending you home for the rest of the day until I decide what to do with you."

Castle held his handcuffed wrists out over the table. "I hate to interrupt but these shackles are starting to itch; do you mind?"

"Oh you're not going anywhere." Gates warned him.

The look on Castle's face gave away that he really was worried now.

"But his alibi…." Beckett argued.

"….can only be corroborated by you Detective. The time of death was in the early hours of the morning. How can you be sure Mr Castle didn't leave your apartment; commit the murder and sneak back into your bed afterwards; leaving you none the wiser? "

"Oh come on; that's going beyond reasonable doubt." Beckett couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Need I remind you that you've lied! Your word loses all credibility."

"No credit at all?" Castle was beginning to get very anxious.

"Credit?" Beckett said to herself more than anyone. "That's it." She turned and faced Castle. "You're credit card!"

"Sal's Pizzeria!" Castle gasped.

Beckett turned back to Gates. "We ordered pizza off of Castle's credit card in the middle of the night. It was delivered to my apartment; all you need to do is run his credentials."

"Ring the Pizzeria; I spoke to the delivery man myself; he handed me the pizza!" Castle was getting excited now; Gates could hardly argue anymore.

The Captain exhaled slowly. "I should throw the book at both of you for obstructing a murder investigation. I'm going back to my office to do some actual police work; as soon as your credit card checks out Mr Castle; you are free to go. Beckett I don't want to see you in here for the rest of the day; you'll be lucky if I let you back in tomorrow." She walked out of the Interrogation room briskly and shut the door with a bang.

They both let out a deep breath neither of them knew they were holding.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this sooner." Castle told her.

"We were so focused on the evidence and where it was going that we couldn't remember the smallest of details." Beckett concluded.

* * *

Esposito and Ryan came in a few minutes later holding the keys to Castle's handcuffs.

"Your credentials checked out Castle; you're a free man." Ryan said with a smile.

"That's such a relief, please get these cuffs off." He extended his hands out to Esposito who was holding the keys just out of reach.

"Are you sure you don't want to hold on to them for the night?" Esposito grinned. "Or does Beckett keep some in her nightstand?"

"Javi!" Beckett was horrified that they had found out like this.

Esposito unlocked Castle's handcuffs with a smug grin. "Ok Castle I just need you to sign these release forms and you're good to go." As Castle was autographing the form; Kevin continued.

"For what it's worth, I'm happy for you two, but I can't believe you didn't tell us."

Kate stood up from the table. "What; just like Espo hasn't told us he's still sleeping with Lanie?"

Ryan's head spun round to look at Esposito. "Since when?"

"Since yours and Jenny's wedding." Beckett smirked. Anything to get the attention off of them.

"You and Lanie are back on?" Ryan was grilling him.

"We're not back on; alright it's complicated."

Beckett used the distraction and pulled Castle by the hand towards the door.

"We'll see you boys tomorrow; there's still a murder to solve." She called out to them.

"Gate's kicked you off." Castle reminded her as they walked back through the Precinct towards the elevator.

"When has that ever stopped me?"

"How did you know about Espo and Lanie?" Castle asked her curiously.

"I'm a Detective; Castle, I know everything." She smirked before adding "And she told me last night."

"She knows about us doesn't she? The two of you had girl talk?"

The couple walked out of the doors of the precinct and decided to take a stroll through central park. "I think she's had it figured out for a while. I suppose it doesn't matter; the secrets out now. Do you think we should tell your family?" Kate asked him.

Castle moaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Is this where I tell you that my mother might have also already worked it out?"

"What? When?"

"She saw you hiding in my closet." The words fell out of his mouth in a jumble; he said them so quickly.

"Castle!" She exclaimed. "How am I supposed to look her in the eye ever again?"

"It's ok, she's ok with it. She's happy; she's only been anticipating this for the last four years anyway." He tried in vain to smooth things over.

"What about Alexis?"

"I haven't told her yet; I'm waiting for the right time, her transition to college was very stressful; I didn't want to dump this on her."

"You don't think she'll approve?" Kate prompted.

Castle chose his next words very carefully. "Alexis made things very difficult for Gina to have a relationship with her. I don't want the same thing to happen here."

"You let your daughter dictate your relationships?" Beckett wasn't dropping it this easy.

"Alexis is my daughter, and you're Kate. It would be nice for the two most important women in my life could have some kind of bond; that's all."

"I'm a big girl Castle, you can tell me Alexis doesn't like me I won't be offended."

"She doesn't like the situations that I find myself in; when I'm with you. There's a difference." Castle side-stepped. "But…she knows what you mean to me. I'm sure that counts for something."

"So what exactly do I mean to you Castle?" She tried to ask as casually as possible.

Her question halted him in his tracks. He turned to face her; a look of hurt crossed his expression.

"You're really asking me this?"

"Castle; can you blame me? You show up at my apartment the other night like nothing had happened. All the while you'd had another woman trying to sleep with you. And she was your ex. And you'd been out drinking with her all night."

Beckett threw her hands up in the air, she was really angry now. "Putting aside the fact that she was murdered and I had to find all of this out myself; hell Castle, why didn't you tell me? You thought I'd be angry; it would have been nothing to what I'm feeling right now."

"I didn't think you would trust me. And I don't blame you; at all; especially after the bikini incident. I don't have the best track record; I know. But I've wanted you and me to happen for four years now. I'm trying so hard not to screw it up; but the harder I try the worse it gets."

"Then don't try so hard. Just be you. Castle; this is real for me; ok. I want this. But you need to be honest with me."

"I'll make more of an effort, I promise; just don't give up on us ok?" Castle asked with the most sincerity he could muster. "Maybe now that the secret's out the pressure will come off. We can concentrate on just being us, and doing what we want to do yeah?"

"That sounds good." She smiled at him.

Rick put his arm around her. "How about I take you back to my apartment tonight and I'll cook you dinner?"

* * *

The two lovers continued their walk around central park hand in hand. It was so nice to be holding hands in public; Kate thought to herself. They walked past a park bench that had a young lady sitting on it; she didn't give this woman a second thought until she called out "Detective Beckett?"

Kate turned around to find it was Suzie Wilson; the receptionist at the law firm where Luke Pritchard works.

"Ms Wilson, how are you?" Beckett asked.

"I was just going to come by the Precinct."

"Have you information about the Donnelly case?"

"Yes I….." She paused when she saw Castle and realised that he was the man she had seen in the bar that night. "It's you…..you were with Kellie."

"This is Rick Castle; he knew Kellie Donnelly from college; but he's been cleared of all suspicion. He didn't do this Ms Wilson."

"I'm so sorry; I know she was your friend." He offered.

"You said you had information?" Beckett prompted again.

"Yes I….." She pulled her mobile phone out of her bag. "I received this message about an hour ago."

Beckett tapped into the message. "Tell anyone about Kellie; and you're next." She looked up at the frightened woman. "Do you know what the message is referring to?"

"Not really. Kellie asked me last week if I could get the password for Luke's computer account. All of the computers in the office have their files backed up on a server so that you can log in and work on your case files from home. I'm the only person in the office who has a record of all of the passwords." Suzie explained.

"Kellie was looking for something." Castle said.

"I told her no; but she said it was important. We were sitting at my desk when she had asked me; she had come over to the office to take me to lunch. She looked really desperate; and I know it's not like Kellie to do anything against the rules. I told Kellie that the passwords were inside the locked drawer in my desk. Then I asked her to look after my handbag while I went to the bathroom. Kellie knew the keys were inside my bag; I gave her what she wanted indirectly."

"So that you could claim innocence if confronted." Castle asked.

"Yes. I could lose my job for this. That's why I didn't tell you about this during the interview; but now…whatever Kellie was looking for; she must have found it."

"The killer might think that Kellie shared the information with you; since you were the only way for her to get the passwords." Beckett concluded.

"But I don't know and I was smart enough not to ask. Please help me; I don't know what to do."

"We'll take you down to the precinct and you can make a formal statement. Police protection will also be put on you until the case is closed."

"Aren't you forgetting something; Detective?" Castle pulled her back to one side out of earshot from Ms Wilson.

"What?"

"You're off the case. Gates has banned you from the Precinct for the rest of the day, at the very least."

"Don't you think this is a bit more important than a silly suspension? I'll take Ms Wilson in and hand her over to Ryan and Esposito. Don't worry Castle; you're still cooking me dinner tonight." She smirked.

Beckett found out that her suspension was anything but silly when one of the officers at the entrance to the 12th blocked her path.

"I'm sorry Detective but I'm under instruction not to let you back in here today."

"Excuse me?" Kate responded; a little shocked.

The male officer continued. "Captain Gates has barred you for the rest of the day; I'm sorry."

Castle was the one smirking now. "It appears Gates knows you a little better than you thought."

"But I have information relevant to a case." She protested again.

"I'm sorry but those are her orders."

Huffing; Kate pulled out her phone. "Espo? It's Beckett I need you and Ryan to come down to the front doors of the Precinct…..you'll see when you get down here." She hung up frustrated.

"You really can't stay away from this place can you?" Esposito teased when they met with Beckett and Castle a few moments later.

Beckett ignored his comment. "You remember Suzie Wilson from Pritchard's law firm?" She motioned at the young woman standing there with them. "She's being threatened by the same person we believe killed Kellie Donnelly. You need to run a trace on her phone and put her in protective custody."

"What part of "off the case" did Gates not make clear to you huh?" Esposito tried again.

"Just do it. Call me if you find anything useful; I want updates." She said over her shoulder as she began to walk away.

"Can we reach you at Castle's place?" Espo called back. He was really enjoying this.

Beckett wanted nothing more than to turn around and poke her tongue out at Javi before deciding that was too juvenile. "Enjoy it while it lasts Espo; the novelty will wear off soon."

Castle put his hand around Beckett's waist as they walked off. He was enjoying being able to touch her in public. "Want me to punch him?"

"Esposito? Castle; he would put you in the ground."

"He would not." He argued playfully. "A coma maybe."

* * *

The couple made their way back to Castle's apartment; happy and content. A weight really had been lifted off of their shoulders by coming clean about their relationship. Castle was no longer sleeping in a prison cell and they could eat dinner with his mother; hopefully without it being awkward. They were smiling and giggling and playfully touching one another as they unlocked the door to his loft when they heard a voice float down from upstairs.

"Dad is that you?"

"Alexis?" Castle broke away from Beckett's touch. "It's the middle of the week; we weren't expecting you home until the weekend."

Alexis came flying down the staircase. "I know; but I'm in the middle of a meltdown; I need some advice, and a phone call just won't…do." She paused when she saw her father's companion. "Detective Beckett."

"Hello Alexis." She smiled warmly; trying to break the tension she immediately felt.

"What's going on?" Alexis wasn't an idiot, the fact that Kate was randomly at her father's apartment with him wasn't normal.

Castle took a deep breath in. "I think it's time we talked."

Kate refused to let this turn uncomfortable. "I'll make a start on dinner yeah?"

"Thanks; I'll be there soon." He replied; smiling at her warmly.

Kate squeezed his hand before he left her side to approach his daughter; whose sharp eyes hadn't missed the small display of affection. Castle took his daughter into his office to explain and Kate walked over to the kitchen sink to peel some vegetables and it didn't take long before she heard muffled shrieks coming from behind the doors of Rick's office. Beckett exhaled nervously wondering if it was a good shriek or a bad shriek.


End file.
